Popular Posts

Croatia Airlines brings forward CRJ lease

Get link

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Email

Other Apps

Croatia Airlines will bring forward the lease of two Bombardier CRJ1000 aircraft this summer, enabling the carrier to resume a number of its seasonal routes earlier when compared to previous years. It comes after the airline handled a record number of passengers in 2018. Speaking to EX-YU Aviation News, Croatia Airlines said, "In 2019, we are planning the same number of additional units as in 2018. We started with seasonal wet-leases so as to respond to market demand during the peak period. The summer of 2019 will be the fourth year that we will be leasing additional units. However, we are also happy to announce that, year after year, we have been widening the period of seasonal ACMIs. The first aircraft will be joining our fleet on April 1, 2019, and the second one on April 18". It added, "Seasonal ACMIs have facilitated the introduction of ten new destinations during the last three years and increased our presence on the European market".

Over the past years, Croatia Airlines has wet-leased two CRJ1000s from Iberia Regional (Air Nostrum). As a result, it introduced four new routes in 2018 alone and boosted frequencies on a number of services. "In general, we are happy with the performance of the new routes, although not all of them performed equally well. Keeping in mind the seasonality of demand for flights to the Croatian coast, the Split - Copenhagen and the Dubrovnik - Munich routes will remain seasonal and will be operated until October", the carrier said. It also noted, "The Zagreb - Dublin route will be upgraded to three weekly services during the summer timetable, with the period of operation extended into the 2019/2020 winter with two weekly services operated on Thursdays and Sundays. We believe that this route will gradually be developed into a year-round service, although Croatia Airlines will continue to adjust its capacity carefully, responding to rising demand for the route. The Zagreb - Mostar route will continue to be operated as a twice weekly service throughout the year".

Croatia Airlines welcomed 2.168.863 passengers on board its aircraft in 2018, representing an increase of 2% on the year before. The figure represents the secpnd tme the company carried over two million travellers in a single year. Of those, 1.642.285 passengers were handled on international flights, up 3% on 2017, while 526.578 travelled on domestic services, which is on par with figures achieved the year before. "Despite the negative impact of the price of jet fuel, increased competition and the traditional seasonality of the Croatian market, Croatia Airlines' business achievements in 2018 were at a satisfactory level", the company concluded.

Comments

Some mathematics is not clear: First said that 2018 was the first year to carried over 2mil pax. After that is said that in 2018 OU carried 2.168.863 pax - representing an increase of 2% on the year before???

What I don't get about Croatia Airlines is that they constantly say how seasonality is an issue and that they have to deal with that. And then they both go and launch seasonal only routes, lease equipment only during the summer etc. If they want to deal with seasonality they have to actually do something during the winter.

The thing is that costs increase proportionally during winter. In winter you have to deice, which is expensive. Then the demand drops dramatically compared to summer which leads to less revenue, since prices are much lower. The productivity goes down, as a crew operates only half of what it does in summer etc.. So in the end you have much higher costs, less pax paying less and the whole thing becomes negative. I personally do not know any European airline that is not deeply in the red during winter.

+1It is so absurd that they complain about the seasonality and launch new routes from the coast. There's only one city in Croatia which has air traffic year-round, the capital city. Yet, instead of feeding its own hub and strengthening/expanding its network, these dumbs fly directly from coastal cities to Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, London etc. during the summer months to feed other hubs, weakening its own hub's network! Such stupidity deserves bankruptcy eventually,

SPU manages to handle between 40.000 and 50.000 passengers during slow, winter months. It's time for them to start working on year-round flights from the coast. SPU will handle around 3.5 million passengers in 2019, it's time they fight for their own share.

Exactly! How can there be 10 daily flights between LONDON and SPLIT from APRIL to OCTOBER on BA, EZY, W6, DY, OU and others and then NONE from NOV-MAR???? There is definetely room for a twice weekly service to LON and other cities. OU should grab the opportunity and start SPU-LGW Year Round!

Yes, CRJs are both cheaper to buy/lease and to operate (lower fuel consumption and lower charges due to lower MTOW) than E-jets. Like many others here seem to feel, I also find the CRJ a pleasant and comfortable aircraft, but there are a couple of downsides compared with the Embraer. The E-jet is roomier and feels like a small narrowbody rather than a regional jet. The CRJ relies on stairs built into the door and can not use a boarding bridge, which the Embraer can.

How odd. I didn't know that was possible. They must have been built to go very low. But what makes me wonder the most is the aircraft door. It opens down (with the stairs being built into the door). I don't understand - how does that work together with a boarding bridge?

Zagreb does have Turkey during summer by Tailwind (Antalya), and from this year Air Malta (to Malta) and EgyptAir (to Cairo). But so many Croatian tourist use Adrian charters to Greece, Turkey and Egypt. Zagreb should try to attract those passengers to travel from Zagreb airport.

The Scandinavian routes they launched - Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, seem to be highly seasonal and purely cater for summer tourists from those countries. Even DY didn't survive on Stockholm-Zagreb route in winter.

Neos will join the fleet by financial leasing most probably. They'll sell their existing contract to a lessor and lease the aircrafts back. Clever solution, considering the company's financial status. Air Serbia could opt for the same, if Etihad wasn't involved in the equation.

It would cost OU more resources to crew two additional short term leased air frames in house, than out source. If anything, it's guaranteeing the existing staff, and crew job security because funds are better managed.

Croatia Airlines should improve connectivity in ZAG, provide reasonable prices. They should also have two different strategies for summer and winter due to high seasonality of their market and they must take good care of the costs.

They could focus on ACMI wet leases, maybe try and get subsidies and launch flights from other countries during the winter, like Adria did from Poland. Operate more charters, look at possibility of long haul flying (which will eventually be taken care of successfully by foreign airlines)

the suggestion of MAN-ZAG is noted (as was operated by Monarch) but more is needed from London to Zagreb. Both BA and OU can charge as they wish on this route and OU is now only x 4 p week I believe - having sold those valuable LHR slots. When Easyjet flew LGW-ZAG the load factors were great - way up in 95% (i was told)...pity they do not seem to be on the way to return to ZAG...and we can guess why not!

Post a comment

EX-YU Aviation News does not tolerate insults, excessive swearing, racist, homophobic or any other chauvinist remarks or provocative posts with the intention of creating further arguments. A full list of comment guidelines can be found here. Thank you for your cooperation.